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A Western New York Primary School. EDUC 540 Lauren Brechtel. The Primary School. * Located in Western New York * PK-2 building * Population of 364 students (309 excluding pre-kindergarten * Fourteen general education teachers * Three special education teachers * Two reading specialists
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A Western New York Primary School EDUC 540 Lauren Brechtel
The Primary School • * Located in Western New York • * PK-2 building* Population of 364 students (309 excluding pre-kindergarten • * Fourteen general education teachers • * Three special education teachers • * Two reading specialists • * Six classroom aides
School-wide Literacy Program – Open Court Reading Series Instructional Components: • Phonemic Awareness • Systematic, Explicit Phonics • Fluency • Vocabulary • Text Comprehension Differentiating Instruction: • English Learner Support • Reteach Lessons • Intervention Lessons • Challenge Activities • Science/Social Studies Connection Centers Connection to Theory: • Differentiating Instruction Support Activities *Bandura’ Social Learning Professional Development Resources: Theory • Professional Development Guides *Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal • Online Professional Development Development • Teacher’s Resource Library *Associationism/Schema Theory • Lesson Model Videos
Smart Board Room Teachers can bring their students down to the Smart Board room for lessons or other activities during the day. This is the only room in the building that houses a Smart Board. There is also a Wii room available, thought this is currently only used for supplemental physical education. • Other technology and electronic materials available to the teachers: • AIMS Web subscription • IXL Math subscription • Type to Learn 4 for touch typing practice • “All About Animals” and “All About Weather” modules from Sunburst for science lessons • Five iPads for teachers to use in the building
Students can attend the Hard Work Café for lunch at the recommendation of their teacher for incredible effort and/or improvement in their classroom. This is an incentive for students to work hard and always try their best, though it is not only reserved for literacy effort and improvement, but all subjects in all grades.
The Daily 5 *Read to Self *Read to Someone *Listen to Reading *Word Work *Work on Writing All classrooms in the building are required to use The Daily 5, developed by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, as a supplement to the Open Court Reading Series. “The Daily 5 is a student-driven management structure designed to fully engage students in reading and writing” (Boushey & Moser, 2006, p. 12).
Students’ Book Boxes Listening and Writing Centers
The School Library 6,240 total items: • 60 audiobooks (including both CDs and cassette tapes) • 2science kits for teachers • 44 magazines • 59 professional titles in all subject areas • 72 reference titles • 567 videos (both VHS tapes and DVDs) • 5,436 books
Animals and other objects on the shelves of the library denote sections of literature (ex. books about birds, insects, farms, etc.) for students who have not yet begun to read.
Mrs. B.’s Classroom Library Includes approximately 2,000 titles for student use and a myriad of professional development titles as well.
Mrs. L.’s Classroom Library Includes approximately 350 titles from which students can choose. Classroom libraries at the school. range from one classroom’s library of 95 titles to other classroom libraries of approximately 2,000 titles.
Literacy Incentive Programs • Informational Reading Night led by Reading Specialists • Book-It • Author’s Tea • Mrs. B.’s Monthly Family Reading Night • Mrs. S.’s Weekly Reading Stickers
School-wide Assessment Data • **The primary school. is a K-2 building and therefore has no comparable data on the GreatSchools website. • On the GreatSchools website, the primary schoolhas been given 5/5 stars from the school community. • The elementary (grades 3-6) has been rated 8/10 on the GreatSchools website and is “…among the few public elementary schools in New York to receive a distinguished GreatSchools rating of 8 out of 10” (GreatSchools, Inc., 2013). • The high school (grades 7-12) has been rated 7/10 on the GreatSchools website. • Remedial Reading Instruction Participants: • Kindergarten – 20 students • First Grade – 26 students • Second Grade – 28 students
Assessment Data (continued) • RTI: • Kindergarten: First Grade: Second Grade: • Tier 2: 16 students Tier 2: 24 students Tier 2: 25 students • Tier 3: 4 students (Tier 2 overlap) Tier 3: 2 students (no overlap) Tier 3: 3 students • Students not meeting grade level expectations on AIMS Web assessments: • Kindergarten: First Grade: Second Grade: • 24% of all students 30% of all students 26 % of all students • At the end of each school year, approximately 40-50% of all students involved in Tiers 2 or 3 test out of the programs, but by the time September arrives, only about 5% of these students keep their skills at the levels necessary to completely leave their remedial instruction.
Strengths *K-Lab *Two Full-Time Reading Specialists *Communication Between Reading Specialists and Teachers *The Daily 5 Challenges *Money/Budget Issues *Lack of time when all students are present in the general education classroom
Action Plan #1: More Even Distribution of Books in Classroom Libraries * Borrowing system between teachers who have a plethora of reading materials and those who do not * Encouraging teachers to make use of the public libraries in the area to supplement the literature that they already have in their classrooms
Action Plan #2: Daily Block for Pull-Out Services One time during the day designated to be a time when teachers are not allowed to present initial primary instruction. During this time, students who need various services would be able leave the room. Benefits to this Approach: The students who leave the classroom during this time would not miss any initial primary instruction. Teachers could more easily plan for whole-class activities. There would be ample time for the implementation of The Daily 5 and for sustained, independent reading.
Action Plan #3: Literacy Coach for Professional Development “In general, I believe the teachers feel like they don’t even know what to do to reach reading in ways that align with the common core” (B., 2013). Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Extend Vocabulary
Action Plan #4: Copy of The Daily 5 for All Teachers While teachers are expected to implement The Daily 5 in their classrooms and there are books teachers can use as resources available in the library, all teachers have not been provided with a copy of this book. Therefore, I think that this should be distributed as a resource for all teachers in their classrooms for reference and preparedness. This is an empowering text to guide teachers through planning and teaching and equip them to become effective teachers.
Action Plan #5: Add Summer Literacy Instruction/Tutoring Every summer, approximately 40-50 percent of the students who are involved in some sort of remedial instruction make gains so that they can leave the remedial instruction. By September, only about 5 percent of the students who were involved in the remedial instruction the previous year can actually leave the remedial instruction. “I am crushed every year in September…” (Mrs. L., 2013).
“We work as a team and you don’t see that in every school” (Mrs. R., 2013).
References • Allington, R.L. (2012). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs, 3rd edition. Upper Saddle Rivers, NJ: Pearson. • B., J. (2013, February 20). Interview by L.E. Brechtel [Personal Interview]. Challenges at the GLP. • Bereiter, C., Brown, A., Campione, J., Carruthers, I., Case, R., Hirshberg, J., Adams, M.J., McKeough, A., Pressley, M., Roit, M., Scardamalia, M., Stein, M., & Treadway, G.H., Jr. (2005). Open Court Reading. Columbus, OH: SRA/McGraw-Hill. • Boushey, G. & Moser, J. (2006). The daily 5: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades. Portland, ME: StenhousePublishers. • Cobb, J.B. & Kallus, M.K. (2011). Historical, theoretical, and sociological foundations of reading in the United States. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc. • GreatSchools, Inc. (2013) Greatschools. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/search/search.page?search_type=0&q=eden central school&state=NY • L.., K. (2013, March 4). Interview by L.E. Brechtel [Personal Interview]. Eden GLP reading intervention. • P., S. (2013, February 15). Interview by L.E. Brechtel [Personal Interview]. Eden GLP library. • R., J. (2013, March 5). Interview by L.E. Brechtel [Personal Interview]. Eden GLP reading program. • TOLL • Tracey, D. H., & Morrow, L. M. (2006). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. • Walker, B. (2012). Diagnostic teaching of reading: Techniques for instruction and assessment, 7thedition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon.